


Friction

by Ischa



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Related, F/M, Loss of Powers, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Movie(s), Threesome - F/M/M, Trinity (DCU)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 19:08:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8726734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ischa/pseuds/Ischa
Summary: In which Clark comes back from the dead and moves in with Bruce who dates Diana. Things (and hearts) kinda get away from everyone after that. 
  “Clark's grave is empty,” Bruce said after a while. 
  
  “Good grief!”
  
  “Yes,” Bruce replied.
  
  “Do you think that his body was stolen?”
  
  “This isn't the 19th century, Alfred,” Bruce answered, a bit sharper than he had intended to. It was a possibility, but not many people knew that Clark Kent had been Superman.
  
  “I wasn't assuming a resurrectionist did it,” came Alfred's calm reply.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Beta by Icalynn. All my thanks.

Friction  
_[frik-shuh n]_

_noun_

_1._  
surface resistance to relative motion, as of a body sliding or rolling.  
2.  
the rubbing of the surface of one body against that of another.  
3.  
dissension or conflict between persons, nations, etc., because of differing ideas, wishes, etc. 

 

~Prologue~

It was dark. That was the first impression he had of his surroundings. It was dark. He had never been afraid of the dark. He was the darkness, he was the night. He was never afraid of darkness, but he was afraid now. 

He could hear his heart beating too fast, he tried to will it to beat slower, but it wouldn’t obey. 

He took a small measured breath. The air was stale and tasted earthy. Now that his senses were expanding, he could hear things crawling and burrowing, beside him, under him, above him. He stretched his hands out and his fingertips touched something soft and when he was done tearing through the material there was solid wood and he took another breath. 

Bruce was in a box. A coffin. 

He blinked, and only knew he did, because he could hear his eyelashes move against his skin. He shouldn't be able to hear his eyelashes move, he thought dimly. 

Breathing was suddenly becoming an issue, like the fact that he shouldn't be able to hear what he was hearing, it stole all his breath. Made it real that he was in a coffin, buried somewhere. 

He wanted to scream, he could feel the sound materializing in his throat, but he swallowed it down. There was no one to hear him. He had to make it out on his own. 

He put his fingers against the soft material of the lid of the coffin and started to tear at it. The scratching didn't mask the sounds of the crawling, eating, burring things all around him.

 

~One~

Bruce woke with a gasp and sat up. He ran a hand over his face, felt sweat already cooling on his skin. 

He took a breath and then another. The Lakehouse was never really dark, and it was never really silent, but it felt too dark and too silent right now. He reached out blindly for the lamp on the nightstand and switched it on. Better. He had the insane urge to turn his face into the light, the glow, the gentle heat of it. He shook it off and got out of bed. 

He was up already and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to fall asleep again, so he might as well go down to the Cave and punch something really hard. 

~+~

Alfred found him a few hours later, took one look at Bruce, Bruce could feel it, but didn't turn around, and set the tray with coffee and breakfast onto the counter nearest to the workstation. 

“Short night?” He asked.

Bruce grunted, but didn't stop punching the bag. He wasn't done yet. There were still flashes of that dream – like mist hard to catch – fluttering around his head. He wanted them gone. (He wanted to catch them.)

“You should maybe stop and shower, Master Bruce,” Alfred continued as he poured coffee into a cup. 

“When I'm done,” Bruce grunted. 

“But it's so rude to make a lady wait,” Alfred replied. 

Bruce pulled his punch and grabbed the bag, put his forehead to the leather and breathed. Hell, he had forgotten. He didn't know how he could have forgotten, but it had just slipped his mind. 

He was supposed to meet up with Diana, in an hour. And it was rude to let a lady wait. Especially one that could kick his ass. 

“I have already laid out the dark suit,” Alfred said smoothly. 

Bruce smiled into the leather of the punching bag. Of course he did. “Thank you, Alfred.”

“My pleasure, Master Bruce,” Alfred replied and then went upstairs. 

Bruce took off the gloves and went to take a shower. 

~+~

Diana was already there and all eyes were on her. She was stunning, even only dressed in a grey pantsuit. When she saw him, she smiled warmly and Bruce smiled back. It wasn’t even the Bruce Wayne smile, it was his. He was glad to see her. 

“Bruce,” she said, standing up to great him. 

“Diana,” Bruce replied, sitting down after she did. 

“I’ve already ordered drinks, I hope you don’t mind.” 

He didn’t. 

It was a secluded restaurant and he always tipped well, so they were left alone. 

“ Have you seen Mrs. Kent?” Diana asked. 

Bruce took a sip of his coffee. What she meant, was of course, had he been back to stand at Clark’s grave. He hadn’t. 

“We talked on the phone. She understands that I’m busy.” 

“Of course, she understands you’re busy and she is grateful for what you’ve done for her and her son.”

Bruce nearly snorted. Grateful? It was the only thing he could do. Bring her son home, pay for the funeral. He knew that he wasn’t directly responsible for Clark’s death, but –

“Stop brooding. It wasn’t your fault,” Diana said gently and startled him by putting her strong slender hand on his. 

“Mrs. Kent sure doesn’t think so,” Bruce said. 

“You saved her life,” Diana reminded gently. 

Killed his son, Bruce thought. He knew how she felt- the waiter came then and he put his face on, Diana withdrew her hand and he felt strangely bereft. 

Once they had ordered and the food was served, the conversation turned to other matters. Mostly finding those individuals with special abilities and convincing them to join his little league. 

~+~

“There is this thing,” Diana said, sounding a bit breathless over the comm link. 

“Thing?” Bruce replied, but it was the Batman’s voice because he was in the middle of something here. 

“Yes, I could use your help,” Diana replied. “If you’re not too busy, I know you are a busy man.”

She was teasing, Bruce realized. He kicked the last of the thugs to the ground, ziptied them and then shot the grapple. 

“Sure,” he said. 

“You don’t even know what I want,” Diana said. 

“I’m reasonably sure I can handle it,” Bruce replied. 

“Sending you the files once I’m home,” she said. “Goodnight, Bruce.”

“Codenames,” he said. 

She laughed and hung up. 

He got into the car and drove back to the cave. 

“Good patrol?” Alfred asked, he didn’t even look up from the workbench, but there was amusement in his voice. 

“Satisfying,” Bruce answered, but he couldn’t deny that he was in a good mood and that Diana’s call was part of it. 

“Very well,” Alfred said. 

“Spit it out, I know you have something to say,” Bruce replied. 

“I’m just glad,” Alfred said, “That you’re making friends as Bruce Wayne and Batman, Master Bruce.” 

“It’s a whole new world, Alfred,” Bruce replied. 

“Indeed.” 

~+~

He woke up to darkness and silence. Breathing was an issue. His fingers hurt like he had been digging. Bruce switched the lamp on and blinked against the light. 

“Fuck,” he whispered. He knew it was irrational, but he looked at his hands anyway. No fresh marks, no dirt under his nails. 

The smell of earth, deep, damp earth was still in his nose. He could nearly taste it on his tongue. 

He willed his heart to beat slower and then closed his eyes for a moment. Tried to recall more of the dream. It was already fading. The only thing that lingered was a vague sense of dread and confusion.  
Bruce got up and took a cold shower but he couldn’t shake that feeling until Diana called. 

“Are you busy tonight?” She asked. 

“Depends,” Bruce replied, leaning against the kitchen counter. 

“On what?” 

“What you want to do tonight,” Bruce answered. 

She laughed. “Dinner?” 

“Are you asking me out?” Bruce wanted to know. It sure as hell sounded like she was asking him out. 

“Yes, I am,” Diana replied. 

“Text me when and where, but I’ll have to be home at midnight,” Bruce said. 

She laughed again. “Will your Porsche turn into a pumpkin then?” 

“No, but I just might,” Bruce replied and she laughed again and hung up on him. 

Bruce was glad she didn't make a bat-joke.

~+~

There was a natural progression to these things, Bruce thought, but he had never imagined (well, maybe imagined, yes) that it would be with Diana like this too. 

She was down to her underwear, rather practical black bra and slip, when Bruce had the presence of mind to stop and take a step back. 

“Bruce,” she said and sat down on the bed, spreading her legs in invitation. 

He looked at her face. “Do we have to talk about what this is or isn't?” 

“No, Bruce, we don't have to talk about it. You want to have sex with me, I want to have sex with you and besides that we're allies, partners in arms, yes?”

“Yes,” Bruce replied, because this was exactly what they were and he didn't want to lead her on. Didn't want to deal with anything else that could get complicated. And this was convenient too, he didn't have to hide his scars with her because she already knew who he was. 

“Take off your clothes then and come here,” she said, smiling and patting the space beside her on the bed. 

Bruce did just that. She reached out and grabbed him by his boxers and pulled him close so her breath was hitting his cock and then she pulled the boxers down and kissed his cock. He inhaled sharply. 

“You'd think,” she whispered, “That you'd get used to it, but every single one of you is different.” She licked his cock and then let him step out of the boxers before she leaned in and wrapped her lips around the head. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so he set them carefully onto her shoulders. She hummed in approval, pulled him in closer still. It felt so good, her hands were caressing his ass, his legs, his back, running over the scars and not stopping. He realized as his orgasm was building, that he hadn't been this carefree with anyone in bed in years. 

“Diana,” he warned and she pulled back, looked up at him. 

“You want to come like this? I can't catch anything,” she said. 

“What about-”

She smacked his ass lightly, playfully. “You can use your mouth on me too.”

“Yes,” Bruce said, because her mouth felt really good around his cock. 

Diana smirked and went back to giving him one of the best blowjobs of his life. He did warn her by squeezing her shoulders that he was about to come and she backed off a bit, only sucking on the head.  
His orgasm slammed into him and his fingers tightened around her shoulders hard, he had a second of panic after, but she just smiled at him. No red marks, no bruises in the making. Diana was made of tougher stuff. 

“My turn,” she said, letting herself fall onto the bed and spreading her legs. 

Bruce pulled down her panties and went for it. She was sweet and wet, like any other woman and Bruce relaxed. He knew that he was good at this.

By the way her fingers curled into the sheets she was enjoying it too. 

“Bruce,” she gasped, “Right there, keep that up.”

And he did, just to hear that breathy voice again, until her thighs started to quiver and she came on his tongue. Bruce kissed the smooth soft skin of her belly and got up. He wasn't going to tell her to leave, but he needed a shower. 

“You are really good at this,” Diana said, looking up at him. 

“Practice makes perfect,” he replied. 

She smiled, closed her eyes. “Go shower, I know you want to suit up soon.” 

“Diana-”

“Go, I'm perfectly fine,” she replied softly and then stretched luxuriously. She was gorgeous. 

Bruce nodded and headed for the shower. 

~+~

After that first time it became a thing. They didn’t always have sex when they met up, but it happened frequently enough. Sometimes right after patrol to get rid of the tension. 

Sometimes after dinner or when they met at some gala or charity event or other. But she never stayed the night and neither did Bruce on the rare occasions they were closer to her apartment.

It was casual, it was convenient, and it was fun too. 

 

~Two~

Bruce nearly got used to the dreams of darkness and soft, heavy damp earth. He wasn't waking up anymore gasping for air. But they still lingered upon waking. Like cold mist clinging to his skin. 

He figured it was guilt over Superman's death. 

He was dreaming about being buried alive because that was his way of dealing with it or not dealing with it. 

~+~

“Diana,” Bruce said, a bit annoyed. She knew that he was in the middle of something important, he had told her the last time they spoke and that was only three days ago. 

“Martha called, it's Clark,” Diana said before he could hang up on her and go back to his work. 

“Meet me at the airport as soon as you can,” Bruce replied and ended the call. He knew she would be there. He called Alfred to get the jet ready and then he called Martha Kent.

She picked up on the first ring. “Bruce.” 

He waited, but she was just breathing heavily. It sounded like she was trying to keep tears at bay. “Mrs. Kent, Diana just called, she said it's Clark. She didn't say what this was about.”

“His grave is empty,” she whispered. 

Bruce stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and just stared ahead. He was aware that people were cursing him, but he just couldn’t move. A chill ran down his spine. The last dream of trying to dig himself out of a coffin was coming back to him with a vengeance. 

“Did you tell anyone else?”

“No,” she answered. “I don't know what to do.” 

“I'm meeting up with Diana, we're on our way. We will figure it out.”

“Do you think he could be...alive?” The last work was barley a whisper. 

If it were anyone else, he would have said no in a heartbeat, but Clark wasn't like anyone else. “I don't know.” 

“Oh, Bruce,” she said. 

“We will be there soon. Will you be okay?”

“Yes,” she said. “Thank you for coming.” 

“Of course,” Bruce said and waited for her to hang up on him. 

By the time he reached the next corner, Alfred was already waiting there with the car. “The jet is ready,” he said. 

“Good,” Bruce replied. 

Alfred's silence unnerved him. Everything unnerved him. Especially the fact that Clark's grave was empty, if he could believe Martha Kent, and why shouldn't he? She always seemed like a strong woman to him. 

“Clark's grave is empty,” Bruce said after a while. 

“Good grief!” 

“Yes,” Bruce replied. 

“Do you think that his body was stolen?” 

“This isn't the 19th century, Alfred,” Bruce answered, a bit sharper than he had intended to. It was a possibility, but not many people knew that Clark Kent had been Superman. 

“I wasn't assuming a resurrectionist did it,” came Alfred's calm reply. 

Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know. I just don't know...” he trailed off.

“We will just have to wait and see then, won't we? Once we're in Kansas.” 

Bruce nodded. At least he wasn't alone in it, this time around. He knew that Diana was as invested in finding Clark's body as he was. 

~+~

“What do we know?” She asked as soon as they were in the air. 

“Only that Cark's body is apparently gone.”

“I thought she would have told you more,” Diana sighed, looking out of the window. 

He had the urge to grab her hand, but balled his into a fist instead. 

“She hopes he got up and left,” Bruce said. 

Diana looked at him sharply. “Is that possible?”

“If it were me? No, if it were you? Probably no, with Clark? Who knows?”

“But if he got up and left, that means that he had to dig himself out of his own grave,” Diana said carefully. 

Bruce suppressed a shudder. The dream came back to him again. The smell of earth, the darkness. 

“Bruce?” 

He blinked. “Yes, I think so.”

She gave him a sharp look. “What if he did it? What if he dug himself out and left? Where would he go?”

“Home, I guess,” Bruce replied. It would be where he could have gone.

“We know he didn’t go home, Bruce. Martha would have told us.” 

“Maybe he’s hiding, maybe he’s injured, maybe he’s crazy. I don’t know Diana!” 

She reached out and curled her fingers around his hand. He looked down at their hands. Hers looked delicate, but was strong. He could feel the calluses from her sword. It made him feel strangely safe.  
“We will find out.”

Bruce just nodded. Of course they would. He would not rest until Clark’s body was back where it belonged. 

~+~

Bruce kneeled down by the open grave and looked at the hole. The earth, he grabbed a handful and could smell it, damp and earthy. It was the same smell that had assaulted his nose in his dreams. He nearly threw it into the grave again, but caught himself. Let it fall between his fingers instead. Diana and Martha Kent were watching him. 

“It looks like he dug himself out of it,” Bruce stated. He hadn’t wanted it to be true, he realized. Or maybe he did. He – he was glad that Clark was alive, if he was alive, if those months down there hadn’t changed him. And how could they have not changed him? 

Martha gasped. “Where did he go?”

Clark could have been anywhere by now if he had his strength back. 

“We’ll find him,” Diana assured her. 

Bruce was pretty sure they would. By the path of destruction he left behind. He shook his head. Too morbid. Clark only ever wanted to help. And it wasn’t like Bruce never left a trail of destruction in the Batman’s wake. 

“I know you will,” Martha replied. “Maybe we should go back to the house now. I’ll make us a nice cup of tea.”

Bruce nodded, not because he wanted a nice cup of tea, but because it would be good to get Martha back home. Maybe take a quick look around. 

“A cup of tea would be lovely,” Diana said, steering Martha gently in the direction of the car they rented. 

Bruce followed. 

They made it to the house in record time, Diana was driving and he liked her style. Martha was shooting them glances. 

Bruce tried not to think about it. 

Once Martha was in the kitchen, Bruce went out to the barn. He didn’t know why, just that – he had a gut feeling and he had learned a long time ago to trust his gut too. 

He could hear Martha and Diana talking quietly through the screen door. He felt strangely nervous leaving them and the warmth of the kitchen behind. 

He shook it off. “Be right back,” he threw over his shoulder and didn’t wait for an answer before he marched over to the barn. The doors were closed, but gave easily under his touch. 

It was dark inside, warm, dry. 

He knew instantly that he wasn’t the only living thing in there. In the half-light he saw a figure huddled in a corner. He took a step further inside. 

The figure looked up. His face was streaked with dirt, so was his suit, his hands, from what Bruce could see with the bit of light coming through the barn doors. 

“It’s gone,” Clark said. 

“It is,” Bruce replied. He assumed Clark was talking about the ship that brought him here as a baby. 

“I wanted to go home,” Clark said. 

“You are home.” Bruce replied gently. 

Clark just looked at him blankly. 

“Come inside the house, your mother wants to see you, and you need a shower, a change of clothes,” Bruce tried. 

Clark just sat there and looked at him. “Bruce,” he whispered. 

“Yes,” Bruce replied. “Come in and take a shower Clark.”

Clark stood up and shuffled slowly closer. He stumbled and Bruce was at his side in a flash, holding Clark and helping him to stay on his feet. 

Diana was already standing in the door to the kitchen when Bruce and Clark emerged from the barn. She wasn’t coming closer, just watched them and then stepped aside so they could enter the house. 

“Clark,” Martha Kent said. 

“I need a shower,” Clark replied and she just nodded, pointed him in the direction of the bathroom and once he was gone and they could hear the water running, she sat down and started to cry. 

Bruce didn’t know what to do. He wished Alfred hadn’t stayed back in Gotham. 

Diana put an arm around Martha and talked to her quietly. Bruce was trying to figure out what was wrong with Clark. He was obviously weak, probably because he hadn’t been exposed to sunlight for months. But there was something else too. He hadn’t hugged Martha, hadn’t acknowledged her as his mother. 

Amnesia? Brain damage? 

“Well, he is obviously alive,” Martha said, standing up and wiping away her tears. 

“He’s not well,” Bruce heard himself say and Diana shot him a look. He didn’t think it was disapproving, more like she was annoyed he hadn’t used any tact. 

“No, he isn’t,” Martha replied. “He was dead, Bruce. But he will be alright.”

Bruce just nodded. “If you should need any help, just call me or Diana.” 

“I will. Thank you for your help.”

“Diana and I will close up his grave before we fly back,” Bruce said. 

She nodded. “Thank you. I didn’t even think about it.” 

“It’s alright, you just go and be there for Clark,” Diana said. She hugged Martha and then it was Bruce’s turn to hug her and then they were outside again. Fresh air, the low noise of insects, and Diana grabbing his hand briefly. 

“Come on, to the car,” she said, smiling. 

Bruce nodded, followed her to their rental. The private jet was waiting for them. Bruce was glad he could fly home. 

Diana was silent on the plane too. Too silent, Bruce thought, but wasn’t going to start a conversation just because. 

The silence wasn’t exactly uncomfortable. 

She kissed his cheek before they parted at the Gotham airport, Bruce got in the car Alfred was driving and went home. He was looking forward to going on patrol tonight. 

~+~

Martha Kent called two days later. 

Bruce was on his way out of a meeting and picked up on the second ring. 

“It’s Clark,” she said and he waited for her to continue. He hadn’t had the dream about the grave and the dirt and coffin wood under his fingernails since Clark came home. He wasn’t really thinking about what it could mean. “He isn’t – happy here.”

“Mrs. Kent,” he said, and was endlessly glad that she didn’t insist he call her Martha. 

Before he could say whatever he was about to say, and he hadn’t come up with anything to follow that up, she already cut him off. “I think you and Diana should take him.”

“Did he hurt you?” Bruce asked, because there had been something in her voice that wasn’t quite fear but close enough. 

“No, he didn’t hurt me, but he – he’s frustrated and I can’t help him.”

And I can, he thought. What did he know about Clark? Nothing. 

“He needs someone around who can understand him,” Martha continued. 

He wanted to tell her that there wasn’t anyone on the planet who knew what Clark had gone through.  
But there was a pleading tone in her voice and she hadn’t asked him for anything until now. At least at the Lakehouse, Bruce could keep an eye on Clark. Everything was reinforced. Even if he should stumble and crash, he wouldn’t take out a wall. And there was also Diana, who could help. She was strong and a warrior. 

“He can stay with me if he wants to,” Bruce replied. 

“He’s already agreed,” Martha said. 

“I’ll make the arrangements and will get back to you soon.”

“Thank you,” Martha said and then hung up. 

First he called Alfred to make arrangements, then he called Diana and then his secretary so she could cancel all his meetings for the day and shuffle around a bit so he had the next few days as free as possible. 

He had the feeling he would need them. 

 

~Three~

“Bruce?” 

It was only a whisper but Bruce was instantly awake and alert. He blinked up at Clark, who was looking down on him. 

“Yes?” He asked. Why hadn't he heard Clark sooner? Clark was standing right by his bed. He could feel Clark’s body heat. He was so close. 

Bruce sat up, so he wouldn't have to look up at Clark. He looked down at the floor, just to check if Clark was maybe flying inches above the ground, but no, his feet were firmly planted on the floor of Bruce's bedroom. 

“Did you need something?” Bruce asked, because Clark was still just standing there, looking at him. 

“You had a nightmare,” Clark replied. 

Bruce ran a hand over his face, closing his eyes briefly. “That happens sometimes. No need to worry. Everyone has nightmares, Clark. That should be no excuse to come into someone's bedroom, uninvited.” 

Clark went a nice shade of pink. Bruce's night-vision was good enough to notice the slight coloring of Clark's cheeks. “I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking.”

“How long have you been awake, Clark?” Bruce asked. 

Clark shrugged. “A while. I don't feel tired.” 

“You look tired,” Bruce replied, after he switched on the lamp on the nightstand. 

Clark took a few steps back, once the light was on, and looked at Bruce, stared really. Bruce had the urge to cover himself and then shook it off. What did Clark think Bruce would look under all that armor and Kevlar?

“Bruce,” Clark said. His voice was soft and Bruce didn’t want to deal with whatever Clark was feeling right now. 

“Coffee?” Bruce asked, getting out of bed and grabbing a shirt in the process. “No X-ray vision, Clark.”

“How-,” he stopped after a glare from Bruce. “Right. Coffee. Can you even make your own coffee?” 

“I’m perfectly capable of functioning without Alfred for a day or two,” Bruce replied. 

Clark blinked, like he didn’t expect Bruce to make jokes and then he smiled. 

~+~

“How out of shape are you?” Bruce asked two days later. 

Clark had been pretty much only roaming the house or sitting outside on the deck and staring at nothing, pretending to read. 

“No X-ray vision, no heat-vision, strength …well, I took out a wall in the barn, but- I didn’t want to. It’s probably why ma sent me here.”

“She didn’t send you here, Clark. This is not a camp for naughty boys,” Bruce replied. 

“Could have fooled me, Master Bruce,” Alfred threw in. 

Bruce gave Alfred a look that accomplished absolutely nothing. They knew each other just too well for it. 

Clark smiled. 

“So, speed?”

“Yes, but only when I concentrate on it. Only running, no flying. I mean…the one time I tried I ended up in the lake.”

“Ah, okay. So it will take some time I guess to get your powers back.” 

“How long?” Clark asked, like Bruce had all the answers. 

“I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see. Do you want to be out there? Wearing the ‘S’?”

Clark shook his head and looked out of the window at the lake. 

Clark wasn’t well. Was Clark dreaming about the Kryptonite spear? About that hole in his chest? Did he wake up gasping for breath, looking down at himself just to make sure he was whole again? Bruce didn’t know how to talk about it with Clark. 

“May I remind you that Miss Diana will be picking you up in an hour?” Alfred cut in when the silence started to get to Bruce. And it never used to get to Bruce, except right after Jason died. He wasn’t going to think about Jason now. 

“Thank you, Alfred,” Bruce said and then looked at Clark. “You want to come with?”

Clark blinked. “Where?”

“Dinner,” Bruce said. “Usually we talk about our plans for the League. Your input would be welcomed.”

“Wouldn’t Diana mind?” Clark asked. 

“Why would she? Once you want to come back as Superman,” Bruce replied. “I’d assume, you’d like to join our little club.” 

“I would be honored,” Clark replied, seriously. 

“It’s a jacket and tie, kind of place, you did bring a suit?” Bruce asked. 

“I’m afraid it won’t hold up to your high standards, Mister Wayne,” Clark replied, ruefully. 

“Not many things do,” Bruce said with a smile. 

He hadn’t expected to like Clark, but here he was and here Clark was and it wasn’t horrible at all. 

~+~

There was exactly one guestroom at the Lakehouse. It was as far away from Bruce’s bedroom as possible. On the other side in fact. He had never had anyone stay there before and now that Diana was loosening his tie and smirking that irresistible smirk of hers, he was very aware of that guest room. 

It was stupid, Clark wasn’t even home. Alfred took him to the tailor for a suit. Bruce had insisted on it. Clark had resisted, Alfred had made Clark see reason. 

The tie was on the bed, Diana was looking at him. “Next time we can meet at my place,” she said, apparently reading his thoughts. It was good in the field that she knew him so well, they worked well together, but it was something else here. In his bedroom – his home. 

“This is more private,” Bruce replied. 

“Is it? With Clark living here?” Diana answered, pushing him. He let himself fall onto the bed and she followed him. Made herself at home on his chest. 

“You can always offer him your place,” Bruce said. 

“I think he would blush and decline. The only two women he has lived with were his mother and Lois.” 

“Well, neither of those want to have him around.”

She looked sharply at him. “Does Lois even know he’s back?”

“I haven’t told her,” Bruce replied. It wasn’t his place. “Besides she’s not even in the country right now.” 

“You keep track of her?” 

“Of course. She’s smart, she might know who I am, Diana.” 

She nodded, stroked his arm absentmindedly. “You could reach her.”

It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway. “Yes.” 

“But you haven’t offered that information to Clark yet?” 

“He hasn’t ask,” Bruce replied. 

She looked up and into his eyes. “You are a complicated man, Mister Wayne.” 

He grabbed her by the neck and kissed her hard. “Not the first time I’ve heard that.”

~+~

“So, you and Diana,” Clark said, over coffee the next day. He wasn’t actually looking at Bruce.  
Bruce had the urge to answer with: it’s a thing. Which it was, but somehow it didn’t seem right. 

“Yes,” Bruce replied. “It’s casual.”

“Casual?”

Bruce turned to face Clark with his own coffee in hand. He smiled. “Yes, Clark, it means, no strings attached. Two adults having sex when they feel like having sex. Without feelings involved.”

“Surely,” Clark replied, putting his mug down on the table, “You realize that there are some feelings involved.”

“Clark-”

“A one-night-stand may have no feelings involved, but you and Diana are at least friends, comrades?” 

“Yes, we are all that. Friends with benefits is what the cool kids call it these days.” 

“And you have always been one of the cool kids,” Clark said. 

“Actually, no,” Bruce found himself saying. 

Clark smiled. “Me neither.” 

“What about you and Lois?” Bruce asked, it wasn’t the smoothest transition he’s ever made in a conversation, but it got the point across. 

“Lois is gone. Because I was dead, Bruce.” 

“Did you try to talk to her?” 

“What would I even say? Hi, I’m not dead, wanna pick up where we left off?” Clark laughed. “I wanted to marry her. She got the ring after the funeral. Mom told me. She isn’t even in the country right now.”

“I could get you her number, Clark.”

“I don’t want to talk to her, yet,” Clark replied. “I’m all over the place. I’m useless until my powers are restored. I’m officially dead – I…” he trailed off like he had no idea what else to say. 

“We are working on getting your life back.”

“And with ‘we’ you mean a legal team, right?” Clark asked, amused. 

“Well, I can hardly do it myself. I have to babysit you,” Bruce answered. “And don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“What am I doing?” Clark asked with his most sincere, human, innocent look. 

“Distracting me from the Lois issue,” Bruce replied.

“I don’t want to talk about Lois.”

“Fair enough. If you ever want to talk to her before you swoop in and save someone as Superman, let me know.” 

“Thank you, Bruce,” Clark said. 

Bruce just nodded and finished his coffee. “So, as long as you’re in Gotham and your powers are pretty much non-existent, I think you should learn how to protect yourself.”

“Bruce, even if my powers are wonky, no one can hurt me.”

“Are you sure? Because I hurt you when your powers weren’t,” Bruce replied. 

Clark’s eyes narrowed. “You used my weakness-”

“As will everyone else who wants to bring you down, Clark. Don’t kid yourself,” Bruce cut in. Why was it so hard for Clark to understand that? “And I don’t have the time to babysit you every minute of every day, until you can take care of yourself.” He looked at Clark then. “And I’m not sure you can look after yourself. I brought you down. And I’m only human.”

Clark’s hand went to his throat, it was a telling gesture. Clark was remembering Bruce’s boot against the tender skin of his throat. Not one of his finer moments, Bruce thought. 

“I wondered about that, you know,” Clark said. “About you being only human.” 

“Now you know. And a human can beat you. A human can kill you.”

“It wasn’t a human that killed me.”

“It was the spear I made that killed you,” Bruce said. 

Clark looked at him hard and then nodded. “Fine.”

“Fine what?”

“Fine, teach me how not to get killed. Again.” 

“I think it’s too early for those jokes yet,” Bruce sighed. 

“It’s my death. I decided that.” He stood up and stretched. “I’m ready when you are.”

Bruce nodded. 

~+~ 

Bruce had known of course, that Clark had no training whatsoever. “Did you never get into fights with other kids?” Bruce asked. 

“I wasn’t allowed to get into fights with other kids. Dad didn’t believe in violence,” Clark replied. He was breathing hard, after only two hours of Bruce trying to figure out what he had to work with. 

“And it was too dangerous for you to lose control,” Bruce concluded. 

“Yeah.”

“Your father was wrong about it,” Bruce said, throwing Clark a bottle of water. Clark caught it easily. 

“What?”

“He should have taught you how to control your powers, your strength, so you could’ve punched someone without killing them. I bet you got a lot of shit from other kids for being weird?”

Clark drank half the bottle and nodded. “Yeah. I was a scrawny kid and I was weird.”

“You were different, Clark. Not weird,” Bruce said. 

Clark looked at him then and Bruce stared right back, because it was his nature. Clark laughed, looked away. “Thanks.”

Bruce didn’t ask for what. 

~+~

Diana kissed his cheek and then Clark’s and smiled at them. 

“You look handsome,” she said. 

“Alfred did the best he could,” Bruce replied with a side-glance at Clark. 

Clark really did look great in the dark suit and pale blue tie. It took Bruce by surprise how well Clark cleaned up when he wasn’t wearing the iconic cape. 

“I will be envied by everyone, men and women alike,” Diana said, taking their arms, so she was in the middle. 

Clark seemed hesitant for a moment, but Diana was a force of nature and she just swept him along with her. 

“I think they will envy us, because of you,” Clark said. “You look lovely.” There was a quite sincerity in his voice that made the compliment so much more powerful, Bruce thought. Did Clark even know how charming he was? 

Diana smiled, a small pleased smile. Like Clark was giving her something she had thought didn’t exist anymore. 

Bruce felt a pang of something that was probably envy. He shook it off by opening the car door for them. 

It was an art show, and his invitation said only plus one, but no one made a fuss about Bruce Wayne arriving with two people. Especially because both of them were so stunning. 

“You said it would be boring,” Clark whispered in his ear. He was standing too close, Bruce thought. But it was a thing with Clark, he had little concept of personal space, at least with people he knew. 

“Isn’t it?” Bruce asked, looking at something that vaguely reminded him of a dark sky, a lot of blues and greys. He actually liked it, it would look good in the bedroom of the Lakehouse. 

“It isn’t and you know it. You aren’t bored at all,” Clark answered. There was amusement in his voice. “I like this one,” Clark added with a slight nod of his head, that Bruce couldn’t as much see as he could feel, indicating the blue mess in front of them. 

“Somehow I knew you would.”

Clark laughed. Easy and amused. “I might have a thing for blue.” 

“Isn’t it too moody for you?” Bruce asked, teasingly. 

“No,” Clark answered, sincerely. “It’s just right.” 

The word ‘perfect’ came to mind, but Bruce held it in. 

Diana joined them in front of the painting then, sparing Bruce from having to answer. “You should get this one,” she said after looking at it for a while in silence. 

“I just might,” Bruce replied. 

She pressed her arm against his and then told them all about a mess in brown and yellow that was on the other side. Where she also left a boring woman, talking about shoes. 

“You want to see something else?” Diana asked.

Bruce looked at her then, but she was looking at Clark. “Yes, but not here,” Bruce replied. 

She smiled, grabbed his hand and tugged with the other on Clark’s sleeve. “Let’s get out of here then.”

They ended up at the bay. Diana was barefoot and radiant and Bruce wanted to kiss her, so he did. She laughed into his mouth. Pressed her body against his and he was this close to hiking her dress up and seeing how loud he could make her moan, when Clark coughed. Politely. 

Diana breathed into Bruce’s neck. He could feel her laughing still. 

“Maybe we should go home,” she said, letting go of him and grabbing Clark’s arm. “More wine at the Lakehouse? Can you get drunk Clark?”

“I don’t think so, and why would you want to?”

“Because sometimes it’s fun,” Diana answered. 

“To have an excuse?” Clark questioned, there was something sharp in his voice that Bruce didn’t like. 

“If you need one,” he cut in. “Do you need one?” 

Clark stared at him, shook his head. “I don’t know what we’re talking about,” he said. 

Diana kissed his cheek. “Let’s go home then.” 

Bruce liked the ring of that. Home. And he didn’t spoil it by thinking about what she meant. What it implied. 

~+~

Bruce came back from his morning run to find Diana and Clark on the deck, drinking coffee. 

“I thought you would be gone by now,” he said, rubbing the sweat from his face with the hem of his t-shirt. 

“I was on my way out and then I saw Clark sitting here, enjoying the lake, the sun, and coffee and thought, I’d like to join him,” Diana replied. “Coffee is still warm.” 

It was an invitation. They usually didn’t do this, this post sex, next morning breakfast and talk thing.  
But the coffee was hot and he didn’t have to be anywhere. 

Bruce grabbed a chair. Clark poured him coffee. 

“What are your plans for today?” Bruce asked, after his first sip. 

“I thought I’d take Clark out to lunch and maybe a sparring session. Why should you get all the fun?”

“Why, indeed,” Bruce said. “Bring him back in one piece.”

“I’m right here,” Clark said. “And I don’t break that easily.” 

“I wouldn’t think of breaking you,” Diana replied earnestly. 

Hmm, Bruce thought, watching them. Diana was flirting. It wasn’t any of his business, they were casual and she could flirt and have sex with whomever she wanted. And she could be good for Clark, like she was good for Bruce. 

 

~Four~

Clark’s feet were naked, his toes curled around the edge of the deck. They looked strangely vulnerable. They were right there. Bruce could have kissed them if he leaned in a bit. He was sure Clark could feel Bruce's breath on his skin. He put his wet fingers on both sides of Clark's feet and looked up through his wet eyelashes. Clark was looking at the sky, soaking up – no doubt- the sun. 

“So, you and Diana,” he said, because over the last few weeks Clark and Diana had become a thing. He was pretty sure it wasn't a thing like he and Diana had going on, because Clark was Clark. And Superman had always been a better man than Batman. Just ask anyone. Bruce doubted that he would be mourned by so many and buried with all honors. 

Clark crouched down and Bruce pushed away from the deck. He didn't swim far, grabbed with one hand for the deck again. Curled his fingers around it, let them touch Clark's toes. 

Clark's lips curled into a smile. “It's a thing. I think the cool kids call it that.” 

“Doesn't it bother you that you aren't her only lover?” Bruce asked. 

“Does it bother you?” 

“How very Batman of you to answer a question with a question.” 

“You're rubbing off on me,” Clark said. 

“So, it doesn't bother you?” It was only a half question. 

“No, it doesn't bother me,” Clark said, and let his fingers slip beneath the water. “She is her own person, and besides I knew she was with you, before I even kissed her.” 

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “You kissed her?” 

Clark laughed. “Is that so hard to believe? You aren't the only one with game, Mister Wayne.” And it surprised Bruce, the intensity with which he wanted to curl his fingers around Clark's neck and pull him close, down, and kiss him. Bite at his lip to hear him moan. 

“Bruce?”

“I know I'm not the only one with game,” Bruce said, let go of the deck and let the water carry him away from Clark. 

~+~

“You should talk to Lois,” Bruce said a few days later. 

“I’m not ready to talk to Lois. What would I even say?”

“That you’re not dead for starters,” Bruce replied. 

“Why are you bringing this up again?”

“Because you’re moving on and she moved on and maybe it would be wise to let her know that.” He looked at Clark. “She still has the ring.” 

“How do you even know that?” Clark asked. 

Because I have your suit and cape, Bruce didn’t say. “Because I’m Batman,” he said instead with a smirk. 

“You’re a horrible person,” Clark moaned. 

“You really think that?” Bruce asked, putting his mug of coffee down. He was already semi-late for work. He had to go in today, but he didn’t feel like it. He wanted to spend a few more minutes with Clark in his kitchen. 

“No, I don’t. A horrible person would not have taken me in, a horrible person would not share their lover with me.”

“Maybe I let you stay here so I can keep an eye on you. Maybe I don’t care enough for you or Diana to get jealous over you being together.” 

“Maybe, maybe you’re a liar,” Clark said. 

Bruce smiled. “I am definitely a liar, Clark.” He finished his coffee and grabbed his jacket and keys. “See you later.”

“Have a nice day at work,” Clark replied. 

~+~

“Are you going to make a move?” Diana asked. They were staking out a warehouse, or more like Batman was staking out a warehouse, and Wonder Woman in disguise was being a distraction. 

“Not yet, this is just a-”

“I don’t mean this,” Diana said, indicating the warehouse, the rooftop, the night. “I mean Clark,” she added like she had to spell it out for Bruce. 

“This is hardly the right time for this kind of conversation.” 

“Isn’t it? We’re just sitting around and watching people do nothing,” Diana said. 

She had a point. There was nothing going on down there so far. A guy smoking a cigarette, wearing a dark hoodie, but that wasn’t a crime. This might be nothing. Leads sometimes didn’t pan out. He put the binoculars down and turned slightly to look at her. 

“People never do nothing,” Bruce said. 

She rolled her eyes at him. “Are you going to make a move?” 

“What makes you think that?”

“The way you look at him sometimes. He isn’t aware of it, but I am.”

Bruce smiled. “I know he isn’t aware of it.” 

“So, you’re not going to do anything?” Diana asked. 

“What is it that you want?” Bruce replied. 

“Fine, let’s play that game then. I actually have what I want, but I would like to have it together.” She cocked her head. “You’ve been with men before.” 

It wasn’t a question, but he nodded anyway. “Clark hasn’t.”

“It doesn’t mean he isn’t attracted to you,” Diana said. 

“If he is, he doesn’t realize it yet,” Bruce replied. 

“Maybe he needs a nudge in the right direction,” Diana said. 

“I’m not going to make a move, Diana.” He looked away from her and back to the man who was loitering around the warehouse. 

“Leave the boy be, he’s probably waiting for a lover,” Diana teased. 

“This is Gotham,” Bruce said. 

“People don’t wait for lovers in Gotham?” She asked. 

He didn’t answer. “Don’t you have work to do?” 

She sighed. “I could, but work isn’t everything. See you later.” And with that she jumped gracefully to the roof below and it didn’t take long for the Gotham night to swallow her. 

Bruce spent another hour watching the warehouse and when it didn’t lead anywhere he went on patrol for another few hours. He didn’t want to go back and he could admit it to himself. 

He prevented a mugging and punched a bit too hard. He called it a night when dawn was creeping up on him. 

He slept in the Cave. 

~+~ 

“Oh, no,” Diana said from behind him, grabbing him by the sleeve. “You don’t.” And Bruce laughed at the woman he had been flirting with and let Diana drag him away. He had to keep his Bruce Wayne image up after all. And it was hardly the first time a woman got jealous. Even if he didn’t think that was what was going on with Diana right now. But to the outside world it certainly looked that way. 

“What the hell?” He hissed, once they were outside in a stairwell. 

“You were going to take her home,” Diana said, crossing her arms under her chest. 

“Yes, I was,” Bruce replied. 

“I would like to ask why, but I know why you’re doing it. You’re afraid and pulling back.” 

He rolled his eyes. “Hardly. You have two lovers, we aren’t a couple, Diana. I can fuck whomever I wish to fuck, besides you.” 

“You could have two lovers too, instead of whatever you’re having now,” Diana said. 

He ran a hand over his face. “We aren’t-”

“We could be,” Diana cut him off. “We could be. We are already halfway there.” 

The thing was, it was true. He and Diana were already halfway there. It was easy with her. He could be himself with her, in and outside the Cave, the bedroom too. 

“I won’t push,” Diana said, putting her hand on his arm and squeezing gently. “But I like you to think about this, before you throw it away. I know you enjoy being with me. I know you haven’t taken another lover – not counting what you were about to do just now – since we started to sleep together. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

“It does,” Bruce said, stepping away from her touch. It told him that he was already in too deep. 

She gave him a look like she knew what he was thinking. “Can any of them give you what I can?”

“You know they can’t.”

Diana nodded. “Because they don’t know you. They don’t know who you really are.” 

“And you think you know who I really am?”

“I for one, know every one of your scars. Can name most of the weapons they were inflicted with. I know what you do when you don’t come home at night. You don’t have to lie to me. Don’t have to make excuses. I know you are attracted to men too. And I won’t hold any of this against you. I know you are a passionately violent lover when you know your partner can’t be hurt by it. And I know you like to be gentle too.”

“I thought we wanted the same thing. An uncomplicated physical relationship.”

“We still want the same thing,” Diana said. “It’s only as complicated as we make it.” She leaned in then and kissed his cheek. “You should get back to your date.”

She’s not my date, Bruce wanted to reply, but only nodded instead. 

~+~ 

“I talked to Lois,” Clark said when Bruce came home that night. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“Where is Diana?”

“Not here,” Clark answered. 

Bruce loosened his tie and took off his jacket. He grabbed the whisky and poured two drinks, put one glass in front of Clark. 

“I don’t think I can get drunk.”

“You can still feel the burn when it goes down,” Bruce replied. 

Clark smiled wryly and took the glass. “She cried.”

“Of course she did,” Bruce said. 

“And then when I told her I’ve been back a few weeks now,” Clark said. It was months, actually, it was the third month of Clark living at the Lakehouse, Bruce realized. “She got angry.”

Bruce nodded, took a sip of his whisky. 

Clark downed his and made a face, then he stood up and brought the bottle to the table. “I mean what right did she have to get angry?”

“Anger is an emotion, and so by definition she had every right to feel it,” Bruce said. 

Clark looked up at him, sharp blue eyes full of anger. That was clearly not what he wanted to hear from Bruce right now. But Bruce wasn’t going to take sides in this.

“What about my emotions? I was the one who died, who came back damaged, who had to dig himself out of his own grave, Bruce.”

“Did you tell her any of this?” Bruce asked, already knowing the answer. 

“Of course not, she doesn’t need those horrors. I dream about it sometimes, still.”

“Did you tell her about Diana?” 

“Yes,” Clark said. 

“How did she take it?”

“She’s sending the ring back,” Clark said. “I told her to keep it, but she insisted on giving it back. Said it didn’t feel right to keep it.”

“Now that you’re not dead?”

Clark nodded, took another swig of the whisky. “How was your – thing?” 

“Same old, same old,” Bruce replied. 

“You look tired,” Clark said. 

“You look tired,” Bruce countered. 

Clark took another sip of the whisky. “I feel tired, or more like, drained. Lois was my first real relationship.”

“First love?” 

Clark nodded. “That too.” 

“The first love isn’t always the true one, you know that right Clark?” Bruce asked. He didn’t even know why he was still doing this. He wasn’t good at relationships. He had one night stands to relive the tension and convenient cover up affairs with pretty, brainless party-girls half his age. 

“She knew me,” Clark said. 

“Diana knows you,” Bruce replied. 

A smile curved Clark’s lips. “You know me.”

Bruce finished his drink. “I’m going to bed. You should too.” 

“I’m going to finish this, if you don’t mind,” Clark said. 

“I don’t. Good night, Clark.”

“Good night, Bruce,” Clark said. 

 

~Five~

Clark was standing on the deck again. Looking at Bruce. Bruce could feel Clark’s eyes on his body. The water was cold, but his skin felt flushed. He wanted to swim over, curl his fingers first around the deck and then around Clark’s leg and pull him down. 

Clark was hovering over the ground and then over the water, steadily floating closer to where Bruce was keeping his head over the water in the middle of the lake. Just staring, watching Clark coming closer. And then Clark was there, sinking into the cold water, and he was reaching for Bruce: brushing wet hair from Bruce’s face and his skin was soft, his fingers gentle as he ran them down over Bruce’s cheek, jaw, when he curled his fingers around Bruce’s neck and pulled him in. Bruce could have resisted, but he didn’t, went willingly until Clark’s lips met his. 

He could feel himself getting hard, just from the warmth of Clark’s body. The softness of Clark’s mouth. 

He felt ravenous, his hands found Clark’s wet t-shit and pulled him closer. Clark was pushing against him too, his tongue was coaxing Bruce to open up to him and Bruce did with a soft groan. 

He woke up panting in the darkness of his bedroom. He was very aware of his body. His skin was still tingling with Clark’s touch. 

And he was hard. 

After a heartbeat of indecision he gave in. His hand slid down over his stomach to his cock. It wasn’t gentle like he imagined Clark would be, it was hard and fast. The only goal was to get off and get it over with. 

~+~

“Are you and Diana fighting?” Clark asked, handing Bruce a mug of coffee. It was getting horribly domestic in here, Bruce thought. 

“What makes you think that?” 

“I know you like to forget that, I think a lot of people do and mostly I like that fact, because it makes my job easier, but I am an investigative reporter, Bruce. The signs are all there.”

“We aren’t fighting,” Bruce said. 

“Right, but you aren’t doing whatever you were doing before. She’s not coming over,” Clark said, frowning. “We don’t hang out together.”

Bruce looked at him. “You liked that?”

“Of course I liked that. Didn’t you?” Clark asked. 

Bruce did. He just hadn’t been aware that Clark would miss them being together. The three of them. 

When Bruce didn’t answer, Clark barreled on. “And now I go out with her by myself, so it’s really not a big leap to the ‘are you fighting’ question, which you so conveniently denied. Needless to say I don’t believe you.”

“We aren’t fighting, Clark,” Bruce said. 

Clark crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re definitely doing something.” 

“People sometimes drift apart, don’t want the same things anymore.”

Clark nodded. “Sure, me and Lois, that’s what happened to her. She doesn’t want me anymore and I – now with Diana, it’s different now. I’m different now, so I guess I don’t want what I wanted before I died. But you and Diana…you still look at her the same way. She still talks about you the same way as before. So whatever it is, it isn’t that you don’t want the same thing.” He cocked his head. “Or is it me?”

“What?” Bruce asked, setting the mug down. 

“Do you want to be with Diana, without having to share? And she doesn’t?”

“You aren’t the problem, Clark,” Bruce said. 

“That right there is a lie, Bruce. I can tell.” 

“Fine, how about this then: I don’t want to talk about it. It’s between me and Diana and has nothing to do with you and Diana.” 

“Sometimes you really piss me off, Bruce,” Clark said. 

“Likewise. I have to go to the office. Don’t wait up.” 

Clark snorted. “As if.” 

~+~

The dreams were escalating. They were like the ones he had of being buried alive. Vivid and real. He could smell and feel and taste in those dreams. When he woke up he wanted to grab onto Clark, see if his skin was really that soft, his lips really that yielding. 

“You look like hell, Master Bruce,” Alfred commented on day five of nonstop dreaming about fucking Clark. 

“Thanks,” Bruce replied dryly. 

“Maybe you should make up with Miss Diana and Master Clark,” Alfred said, putting a stack of pancakes in front of Bruce. 

Bruce raised an eyebrow in question. “This is not my usual.”

“Your usual wouldn’t cut it today, Master Bruce. Eat up.” Alfred put a mug of coffee on the table and looked at him expectantly. 

Bruce ate his breakfast. “I don’t have to be in the office today,” Bruce said, once he was done. 

“No, but you’re meeting with the lawyers that are putting back Master Clark’s life.” 

Bruce rubbed his temples. “Good thing too,” he said. “Maybe once that is done, Clark can find a place of his own.” 

“I like having Master Clark around,” Alfred said, taking the dishes away. 

The thing was Bruce did too, but it was also frustrating as hell. “This isn't his home and was never meant as a permanent solution. He doesn't belong here.”

“Gotham?” Alfred asked. 

“Yes, that too,” Bruce replied and got up. “Time to face the music.”

“Good day, Sir,” Alfred said. 

Bruce smiled, nodded and grabbed the keys. 

~+~ 

“We're going out,” Clark announced when Bruce got home. 

“I just got here,” Bruce said. The meeting with the lawyers had been informative. Bruce had known from the start that it wouldn't be easy to get Clark's life back, but he hadn't thought it would be that hard. There was no way he could just give them a DNA sample and have it matched to his mother's. There was the time period to deal with in which Clark was actually dead. There was the empty casket too. 

“I didn't say now this minute did I?” Clark asked. He seemed in a good mood and Bruce really didn't want to argue with him. And he also could use a drink. 

“Fine. Do I have time to shower and change?” 

“Yes, of course,” Clark replied. 

“Will there be food?” Bruce asked. 

Clark looked at him. “Haven't you eaten?”

“I had pancakes for breakfast,” Bruce answered. 

“There will be food,” Clark said. 

Bruce nodded and then went to his bedroom. He should stay home, he thought as he was stripping out of his suit. It had been a hard and long day, did he really want to make it longer still? He was sure that Clark was planning something. It probably involved Diana. 

He took a breath, as he threw the button down into the hamper. He missed Diana. He finished stripping and stepped into the shower. At least this was a good idea. He could feel the tension leave his body. 

Clark was waiting for him in the living room. “Your hair is still damp,” he said, grabbing a lock and then realizing what he was doing, he let go and stepped away. “Sorry...I. Sorry.” 

“It's fine,” Bruce said. 

“You'll catch a cold,” Clark said. 

“You know that's not actually true, right? And besides it's warm enough. It'll dry.” 

“I like it, when there is nothing in it, I mean,” Clark said. 

Bruce smirked. “Charming as ever, Kent.” 

Clark blushed and turned away to hide it. As if, Bruce thought amused “I told you I have game.” 

“I remember, just didn't think I was someone you would want to use it on.” 

“I wasn't! I mean-”

“Clark, it's fine, I was teasing,” Bruce cut in. 

Clark looked at him sharply, but then just nodded. “We're taking the car.” 

“You gave Alfred the night off too?” Bruce asked.

“In fact, I did.”

“It's like you live here,” Bruce teased. 

Clark just looked at him. The silence was getting awkward and Bruce couldn’t pinpoint why exactly. Obviously something he had said. 

“Grab your keys,” Clark said eventually and Bruce did. 

~+~

It was another art gallery. 

“That’s not real food,” Bruce said, grabbing one of the canapes. 

“I'm going to buy you a burger and fries after,” Clark replied. 

“You better,” Bruce said. He was going to eat them too and then he would run six extra rounds and swim longer too, to get rid of the calories. 

“Ah,” Clark said, a note of subtle happiness creeping into his voice. “There is Diana.”

“I knew this was a setup,” Bruce grumbled. 

“And you still came,” Clark whispered. He was standing too close already, but Bruce didn't want to move away. Wasn't Clark aware of what he was doing? How could he not be aware of it? “Has to mean something, doesn't it?” He asked. 

Bruce was spared from answering by Diana's arrival. She looked radiant and happy to see them both. She leaned in and kissed his cheek like nothing was wrong between them. He leaned into it and he couldn’t be sure if it was because he wanted to keep up appearances or if he wanted to feel her soft lips against his skin. 

“So glad you could make it,” Diana said, taking his arm. “I wasn't sure.”

“I was,” Clark said, happily. 

Bruce just let them drag him along. He grabbed a bit of food here and there and all the alcohol he could get his hands on. Diana was intoxicating and – Clark was too. In a different way, of course, but not less for it. 

There was a golden monstrosity that caught his eye for some reason and he stopped in front of it. Clark stumbled into him, Bruce bit down on his lip as he felt Clark plastered to his back for a few too long (too short) seconds. 

“Oh,” Clark said softly. He stood beside Bruce and looked at the painting. “Such an opposite design to the one you have in your bedroom.”

“Maybe I should buy it for the guestroom,” Bruce mused. 

Clark turned his head to look at him. Bruce kept his eyes on the painting. Clark smiled then. Bruce could hear it in his voice. “Maybe you should.” 

Diana stepped up to them, held out a small plate to Bruce. “Didn't expect you to like this one. You are full of surprises, Mister Wayne.” 

Bruce took the plate. “Yes, it seems I am.” 

~+~

Clark drove them to the pier and grabbed cheeseburgers and fries for all of them. By then, Bruce was too tired and lazy to fight any of this. He just sat on a bench and watched the water, the dark sky and the silhouette of the city, eating his unhealthy cheeseburger. He could hear sirens in the distance and wondered if he should really be here, for a brief moment, but then Diana leaned into him and he could smell her skin. Familiar and close. 

“Sometimes you have to let the police handle things,” Diana whispered. 

“That's what I'm doing right now. I wouldn’t be of any help anyway. Too much cheap champagne,” Bruce replied. 

“I doubt that,” Clark said. “You are hardly drunk. Maybe a bit tipsy. I've seen you drink harder stuff and more of it.”

“Maybe,” Bruce said, leaning away from Diana and into Clark, who was sitting right there on his other side. “Maybe, cheap champagne is my Kryptonite.” 

Clark drew a sharp breath. 

“Too soon?” Bruce asked. 

“Honestly? I don't know,” Clark said, softly. 

And suddenly Bruce knew again why this was a bad idea. He crumbled up his wrapper and stood up. “I think you should drive me home,” he said. Clark looked to Diana, unsure it seemed. “Diana can come too. You do have your own room, Clark. Not even a need for a sock or tie on the handle.”

“Bruce-” Clark said. 

Bruce cut him off. “Come on. I'm tired. You don't want me to call Alfred do you?”

“No,” Clark said and stood up too.

Bruce strode in the direction of the car and knew that Clark and Diana would follow. 

 

~Six~

“Oh,” Clark said, his ears turning a pale shade of pink and then Bruce was watching as it was spreading downwards, which was so strange. The man who had his hands down his pants was chuckling into Bruce's neck. 

“You should maybe close the door,” Bruce said and then, because it was a possibility Clark wouldn’t. “From the outside.” 

“Yes, I – sorry,” Clark replied and backed away. The door shut with a loud bang. The guy was still laughing. 

“Fuck,” he said. 

Bruce grabbed him by the hair and pulled to remind him why they were here. “Don't stop now.” He said in his best desperate, seductive voice. He closed his eyes and imagined Clark's face. Clark's hand on him, while the man stroked him to completion.

Bruce returned the favor briskly and businesslike. Once it was over, he put himself together as best he could and got back to the party. 

He found Clark at once. He was chatting with an older woman, Bruce should have known the name of, but couldn’t for the life of him remember now. He was about to leave Clark to it, but in that moment Clark spotted him and excused himself from the woman with a smile. 

Bruce waited for Clark to reach him. “Balcony?” 

Clark nodded, disposing his untouched glass of champagne on a side table. Bruce closed the door behind them and leaned against the railing. 

“Sorry,” Clark said. 

“You said that already, why where you there in the first place?” Bruce asked. He had chosen that staircase, because hardly anyone would stumble upon him there with a man's hand down his pants. 

“You moaned,” Clark said, not looking at him. 

“I moaned?” Bruce asked, studying Clark's profile. 

“You moaned and I didn't see you leave with a woman and then I – I thought you were in danger.”

“You know I can take care of myself, right?” Bruce said, he couldn’t help the note of amusement that crept into his voice. 

“I know you can, but Bruce Wayne can't. I thought you might not want to show what you are really capable of when you aren't wearing the mask.” 

Bruce nodded. “True, but it doesn't mean I would let someone sexually assault me, Clark. I do have self-preservation instincts.” 

“I didn't mean-” He stopped, took a breath, began again. “I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking. Obviously.” 

“You thought I was in danger and you came for me,” Bruce said, stating the fucking obvious, he thought. 

Clark shrugged. “I overreacted.” 

“I can take care of myself,” Bruce said. “I'm not fragile.” 

“You are, compared to me and Diana, you all are,” Clark said.

“You think we're somehow inferior and need your protection?” Bruce asked, losing patience for this kind of conversation already and it had barley started. That was another reason he could never be with Clark. It would interfere with him being Batman. 

“Bruce-”

Bruce grabbed him by the throat, could feel Clark swallow thickly. Bruce knew he couldn’t do any damage right now, he wasn't even trying, just let his hand rest around Clark's throat. “Do you remember that?”

Clark nodded. “Yes.” 

“That was me, a fragile human, who had you on your knees and I can have you there again. You aren't invincible and we are so very adaptable to the dangers of this world.” 

There was drunken laughter outside the balcony door and Bruce let go, stepped back a respectable distance, just before a drunken couple burst onto the balcony. Bruce caught a glimpse of Clark's fingers spasm like he wanted to reach out, but then he curled them into fists instead. 

“So sorry,” the woman said, smiling at Bruce. 

“It's alright,” Bruce replied. “We were done anyway.” He nodded at Clark and left the balcony. He had enough entertainment for today. 

~+~

“Spit it out,” Bruce said two days later over coffee and the paper. They were on the deck again. The days were getting shorter now and it seemed that both he and Clark wanted to enjoy the last warm sunny hours the season had to offer. Clark was sneaking glances at him. They hadn't really spoken since the accident at the party. Circumstances, Bruce liked to tell himself, but maybe they had been avoiding each other. 

Clark was obviously trying to find the right words to ask about the man in the stairwell. 

“About the party,” Clark said 

Bruce nodded. “Listening.” 

“Dammit,” Clark said, running a hand through his hair and messing it up charmingly. “Do you have to make it so hard? You obviously know what I am trying to ask.” 

“Just ask then. You are an investigative reporter after all. You like to keep reminding me of that fact.” 

“And still I didn't know,” Clark said softly, looking at the lake. 

Bruce folded his paper. “Are we done here then?”

“No,” Clark said, his eyes snapping to Bruce's face. “You sleep with men.” 

“That's not exactly a question, but I guess as you've seen me, it's a moot point. But yes, I do.” 

“Often?” 

“From time to time,” Bruce said. 

“Does Diana know?” Clark asked. 

Ah, Bruce thought, that was the real problem here. “Yes, Clark. She knows.” 

Clark frowned. “But does she know you do it now too? I mean you two are-”

“We aren't intimate anymore,” Bruce cut him off. 

“Oh,” Clark said. “Since your fight, that wasn't about me?”

“Yes,” Bruce said and got up. “I have a meeting I have to go to.” Clark grabbed his arm and Bruce looked back at him over his shoulder. “Was there anything else you wanted?”

“I – no. Sorry,” Clark answered and let go of his arm. “See you at dinner?”

“Yes,” Bruce heard himself say. 

Clark smiled. 

Bruce was so fucked. 

~+~

“You're holding back,” Bruce said, coming to a halt. He had been suspecting this for some time now. 

“What do you-”

“Don't,” Bruce cut him off. “I can tell. You’re back to normal, aren't you?” 

Clark looked sheepish for a second and then squared his shoulders. “Mostly.” 

Bruce nodded, grabbing a bottle of water and leaving the training mat. Clark trailed after him. “And you were lying about it.” 

“I wasn't lying about it.”

Bruce gave him a sharp look. “Omitting then.” 

Clark rubbed his neck. “I learned a lot while staying here. About fighting, about you, about myself.” 

Bruce put the nearly empty bottle down on a table and crossed his arms over his chest. “And you don't want to go back home.” 

“Kansas isn't exactly my home, Bruce. And I don't mean it in a, 'I'm not even from this planet', kind of way. I mean that I outgrew the farm. I had a life and a woman I loved. I had a job.”

“You can get that all back, in fact you already succeeded at the woman part.” 

“You mean Diana?” 

“Yes, I mean Diana. I thought you said you learned something about yourself? You are in love with her, you realized that at least, right?” 

Clark looked at him long and hard and then nodded. “Yes, I did. I just wasn't aware you did too.” 

“I am a great detective. It's not just a hobby I dabble in, Clark.” 

“I know,” Clark said. “I can tell by the scars, and the broken and mended bones.”

“I didn't allow you to use the X-Ray on me,” Bruce said. “This is private and you shouldn't be allowed to see it,” he smirked. “Without buying me a drink first at least.” 

“I can't afford the drinks you buy, Bruce,” Clark said. “At least not now. I still live on your charity and ma's money.” 

“That will be all cleared up soon enough,” Bruce assured him. In fact his lawyers were pretty sure that it wouldn’t take long to give Clark his life back. And then Clark could move out and Bruce's life could get back to normal. 

“If the Planet will take me back,” Clark said. 

“I can make them,” Bruce replied. 

Clark smiled wryly. “Is there anything you can't do?” 

“Plenty,” Bruce replied and it came out way more honest than he had intended it to. 

“We should go out for drinks,” Clark said. 

“I thought you can't afford anything I would buy?”

“Well, we will drink the stuff I can buy then,” Clark replied. 

“Over my dead body,” Bruce said, turning around and heading for the showers. 

“Is that a no to the going out for drinks then? Because that would be rude, Bruce. So very rude. I invited you.”

Bruce smiled as he stripped. “It's not a no, Clark,” he answered. “But I'm paying.” 

“What else is new?” Clark said. 

~+~

Bruce wasn't drunk and Clark couldn’t get drunk, but he played it well enough. 

“How many times did you have to fake it?” Bruce asked, as they stumbled out of the classy bar. 

“How often did you?” Clark asked, stretching and looking up at the dark sky. 

“Too many too count,” Bruce replied. 

“It's safer to get drunk at home,” Clark stated. 

“Yes, it is,” Bruce said. “You want to head back?” 

Clark looked at him then, Bruce could feel his gaze on his skin and it prickled. There was an awareness that hadn't been there before. “It's Alfred's night off .” Clark said. 

Bruce nodded. “We can get spectacularly drunk.” 

“I can't get drunk,” Clark reminded him. 

“I can,” Bruce said. 

“I'll drive,” Clark stated and held out his hand for the keys.

“I'm good for it,” Bruce protested. 

“I'm better,” Clark reasoned and winced. “Poor choice of words.”

Bruce handed the keys over. “Don't sweat it. It's only human to fuck up once in a while.” 

“Somehow, I have the feeling that people expect more from me,” Clark said quietly. 

“Because people don't know you. Because people don't want to know you, Clark. Come on, let’s get ourselves home.” 

The ride back was a quite affair and Bruce thought that their evening of drinking was over, but Clark grabbed the whiskey and two glasses without saying a word as soon as they were inside the Lakehouse. 

He poured the drinks and sat down on the floor. Bruce looked at him amused, grabbed a glass, sat down on the couch. “Like a real human being.” 

Clark grinned. “I'm not.” 

“Humanity doesn't have anything to do with where you've been born,” Bruce said, taking a sip. The burn at the back of his throat was a familiar companion by now. 

“I’ll drink to that,” Clark said. He swallowed the whole contents of the glass at once, like a man who needed the extra boost of courage it would give him and then looked at Bruce. 

Bruce knew what was about to happen, but he wasn't stopping it. It was stupid. He should stop it, but when Clark's fingers curled around Bruce's tie and yanked, he just went with it. And then Clark's other hand was on his neck, pulling him down and the angle was kinda uncomfortable, but Clark's lips were soft and the kiss wasn't fumbled, wasn't shy, wasn't anything like Bruce had imagined. 

“You were right,” Clark said, licking his lips. “I like the burn.” And then he kissed Bruce again. And this time Bruce kissed back with all the skill he had learned over the years. He made Clark groan and it went straight to Bruce's gut. Clark's fingers tightened on his neck and he was pulling Bruce down. Bruce went willingly. Clark caught him, eased him down into his lap and they were kissing again until Bruce had to break free to breathe. 

He was about to say something, but it seemed Clark wasn't interested in talking. He attacked Bruce's lips again, pulled him impossibly closer, so Bruce could feel how hard Clark was getting. Bruce bit Clark's lip and Clark moaned. Bruce could feel it, working its way through his own body. He wanted this and Clark obviously wanted it and right now there was not a single reason why they shouldn't coming to mind. 

Clark stroked over Bruce's back and grabbed his ass and Bruce thrust forwards so his cock would get some friction. It was the right thing to do, the natural thing to do, so he did it again and again and again, until he and Clark found the perfect rhythm. 

Clark was still kissing him or maybe Bruce was kissing Clark, it didn't matter. It felt good. Clark felt good, safe and solid, and hungry under Bruce's touch. 

Clark bit his neck gently and Bruce came with a low moan. The orgasm left him panting, he clung to Clark while Clark rubbed up against him until he spilled messily in his boxers too. 

He buried his head in Bruce's neck. 

“Like teenagers,” Clark said. 

Bruce laughed. Couldn’t help himself. 

Clark grabbed him under his ass and got up. Bruce had half a mind to protest it, but then he just let Clark carry him to the bathroom. “Shower,” he said and let Bruce down. 

“Good night, Clark,” Bruce said. 

Clark smiled, kissed him again. Gently this time. “Good night, Bruce.” He replied and then left for his own room. At the other side of the house. 

Suddenly so far away, Bruce thought and then shook it off. Shower and his bed sounded like an excellent idea. 

~Seven~

“Are you sneaking out?” Clark asked, leaning against the doorframe to the guestroom. 

“Can I even sneak out?” Bruce countered. He had time to think about last night this morning and he was pretty sure last night, even if really great, was a bad idea in the long run. 

“I can just ignore the noises around me, tune them out,” Clark said. 

“But I’m right here,” Bruce replied. 

“Yes, you’re right here. So, are you sneaking out?” Clark asked, coming closer. 

“I have a company to run,” Bruce answered. 

Clark frowned. “Do you regret last night?” 

Truth was, Bruce didn’t, but he also didn’t think this was a good idea. “Clark-”

“Do you regret last night?” Clark cut in. 

“No, I don’t,” Bruce admitted. 

“Good,” Clark said, coming closer, he grabbed Bruce by the tie and pulled him in gently. “I don’t regret it either,” he said and then he kissed Bruce. 

“We still need to talk,” Bruce said. 

“About Diana? I can talk to her, tell her how we…I mean, we are, right?” 

“I thought you were supposed to be good with words, as a reporter and all?” Bruce said. 

Clark ran a hand through his hair and messed it up even more. “It may come to you as a shock, but I’ve never been with a man before.”

“I’ve never been with an Alien before,” Bruce replied. He meant it teasingly, but Clark stepped away from him. 

“I see,” Clark said. 

Bruce looked at him sharply. “I see,” he hissed. “I’ll see you, later.” It was fucking unbelievable that Clark thought he had only fucked him to satisfy his own curiosity. 

“Bruce-”

“I need to go to the office. Don’t wait up,” Bruce cut him off and grabbed his keys. 

~+~

Bruce didn’t go home that night, he grabbed a spare Bat-suit from one of the safe houses stashed around the city and patrolled until the sun came up. He slept in one of the safe houses too. He didn’t feel like talking to Clark. Clark’s calls went straight to voicemail. 

Not even Alfred could guilt-trip him into coming home. He was a grown ass man, he could handle his life for a few days without his butler around. 

Clark was waiting for him in the kitchen, when he finally came home three days later. 

“Coffee?” He asked. 

Bruce nodded, grabbed a mug and poured it himself. “What do you want Clark?”

“You ignored my calls and didn’t come home. I was worried and I’m sorry,” Clark replied. Before Bruce could ask him what he was sorry for, Clark continued. “I talked to Diana. She understands and she also made it clear I insulted you by implying you only slept with me because you were curious.” 

“She understands what, Clark?”

“That I can’t be with her when I’m with you and I want to be with you.” 

“We hardly know each other and what in god’s name makes you think this was more than a drunken one night stand?” 

“Neither of us was drunk, Bruce. For starters.” Clark poured himself coffee and took a sip. “You still want me. I can tell.” 

Bruce put his mug down. “I still want Diana.” 

Clark blinked. “I-”

“You still want Diana,” Bruce cut in. “You think you want me because this encounter of ours is fresh and because you have had some feelings for me for some time now and now think that Diana was your safety net and-”

“Don’t you dare tell me what I’m feeling!” Clark hissed. 

“Well, someone has to,” Bruce said, feeling tired. He had had three days to think about this. And he knew that Diana was right, he wanted what Diana wanted, the problem was Clark. 

“I broke up with Diana for you,” Clark said. 

“I didn’t tell you to do that. She had been with you and me both, at the same time. This isn’t any different.” 

“It feels different,” Clark said. 

“Why? Because I’m a man?” 

“That has nothing to do with it.” 

“Bullshit,” Bruce said. “You’re all over the place because of this.” 

“I have always been a one person at a time kind of man. I was with Diana and now I want to be with you.” 

“And what if I want to be with Diana as well?” Bruce asked. 

Clark looked taken aback. “I thought you and her weren’t intimate anymore.” 

“We aren’t right now, but I do want to be with her,” Bruce pressed. He could see how this was going downhill and fast, and he didn’t know if it was a good thing or not. It would be stupid for Clark to get involved with him. They were completely different people. Bruce was very aware that he could hurt Clark badly, even if Clark thought he was pretty much indestructible. 

Bruce had fucking issues as big as Gotham and he knew it too. 

“You want to be with her. Okay. Let me clarify this. You want to be with her and me? Or do you want to be with her only now that you fucked me?”

“Technically we didn’t fuck. We only got off, like teenagers,” Bruce said. 

Clark crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him. “Thank you for the clarification, Bruce. You still didn’t answer the question. Do you want to be with me too?” 

“What does it matter? It’s not like you will suddenly move here and-” 

“I’m already living here, Bruce.”

“Only until we have sorted you and your life out again. Don’t fool yourself, your home is Metropolis.”

“I can fly, Bruce. Really, really fast. I can be here in a matter of minutes. I can make it work if I want to be with you.” 

“Maybe I can’t,” Bruce replied. Why was he even still talking? This gorgeous man wanted him and Bruce wanted him too and still he was doing everything to push Clark away. 

“Try,” Clark said. 

“What?” Bruce asked. 

“Try, try to be with me. Try to make it work with me and Diana.” 

“Separately?” 

Clark blinked at him, opened his mouth closed it again. “Excuse me?”

“I said,” Bruce answered, “Separately. But phrased it as a question.” 

“You want a threesome?” 

“No,” Bruce said. 

“I-”

“I think you have the wrong idea, Clark,” Bruce said. “A threesome is a sexual encounter in which three people take part, what I want isn’t just a sexual encounter.” 

“Are you serious?” Clark asked. 

Was he? Bruce nodded. Yes, when it came down to it, this was exactly what he had wanted, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t the model relationship Clark had ever considered.

“You, me, and Diana?” Clark asked, probably just to make really sure this was what Bruce was talking about. 

“Yes. It wouldn’t be much different than before, you know. We’ve been on dates and stake-outs and what not, but at the end of the night we wouldn’t have to choose with whom we’re going to bed with.” 

“And how does Diana feel about it?”

“Actually, she’s the one who brought it up first,” Bruce said. 

“Jesus,” Clark replied. “How long?” 

“What does it matter?” 

“I- I need to think about it. Talk with Diana.”

“Yes, you should and you should be really sure. You need to know what you’re getting yourself into, Clark.” 

Clark nodded. “I know.” 

“Good,” Bruce replied. “Now I need a shower and my bed.”

Clark let him go without another word. 

~+~

“You and Clark talked,” was the first thing Diana said when they sat down. It was a hole in the wall bar and it suited Bruce’s mood perfectly. 

He ordered a drink before he answered her. “Yes. I laid it all out for him.”

“You smacked it over his head, Bruce. You could have eased him into it.”

“What was there to ease into? I mean, if you’re think about it, we’ve been dating, all three of us, for weeks.”

She sighed. “But Clark hadn’t realized that.” 

“Well, now he knows,” Bruce replied, downing his drink as soon as the waiter set it down. He looked at Diana. “So?”

“We talked,” Diana replied. “He had questions.”

“Of course,” Bruce said. 

“Bruce.”

“I know, I know. He’s never been with a man before and he is really…he really likes you.”

She smiled. “I know. He really likes you too. After all he broke up with me to be with you.” 

“He didn’t know what the hell he wanted or what the hell he was doing,” Bruce said, signaling the waiter to bring him another drink. 

“That’s not fair, Bruce. He just didn’t think a three-way relationship was possible. He thought he could have either me or you.” 

“And it doesn’t bother you that he decided to be with me?” Bruce asked, because it bothered him. 

Diana shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. I think he did it because… well he already had me and you were new?”

“That, is kind of a horrible thing to say, Diana.”

Diana shrugged. “As I already said, it doesn’t bother me now.”

He looked at her sharply. “You always knew I would make him reconsider the whole thing. You knew I would push.”

She smiled, it was more of a grin really. “I knew you would try to push him away, because you think you and him are too different to work and you might be right, but,” she spread her arms wide, “There is always me too.” 

Bruce had to smile at that. “What did you tell him?”

“What I told you. That I can share. And you proved that boys can share too,” she patted his hand and he pulled her in and kissed her hard. 

Diana laughed. “It doesn’t mean I will be the judge when you guys get into it again.”

“I never even dreamed you would,” Bruce said. 

“Good, because I am my own person with my own opinions and sometimes I will think you are right and sometimes I will think he is right. And it doesn’t have anything to do with you as a person,” Diana clarified. 

“I know,” he said. Same went for Bruce, actually, but he didn’t feel like he had to spell it out for her. Bruce was sure Diana knew. “Have you been in a three-way relationship before?” 

She laughed. “No, I haven’t. What makes you ask?”

“You seem remarkably calm about the whole thing,” Bruce said. “And you were the first to bring it up, too.”

She took a sip of her wine. “I thought it was the best and easiest solution.” 

“Easiest, really?” Bruce questioned. 

“Fine,” she answered, putting her glass down, “The most fun.” 

That Bruce could understand. 

~+~

“Legal figured out how to get your life back,” Bruce said a few days later. He and Clark were still technically living together, but Clark had been venturing out a lot to test his powers outside of Gotham. He had been to see his mother as well. 

“They did?” 

“I thought you would be happy about that. You will have your own money and your papers and-”

“I can move out now,” Clark cut in, he wasn’t looking at Bruce, he was staring at the lake. 

“Yes, you can,” Bruce said. “You could have moved out weeks ago, Clark. Your powers are under control and your mother would have taken you in at any time.” 

“I guess I didn’t want to move out then. Face the real world again. Now I have no choice.” 

“This is the real world, you and me and this, all this. Diana. This is the real world too, so really, get a grip. There is no one who thinks you need to jump back into the fray, to put on the suit and go out there. For all the world knows Superman is dead. He can stay dead.”

Clark looked at him then, smiled, a bit wryly. “No, he isn’t. And no, he can’t. You know that, Bruce.”  
He was right. Bruce knew it. He felt the same way about Batman. “He doesn’t have to be resurrected the same day as Clark Kent. In fact it’s better if he isn’t.”

“I’m not stupid,” Clark replied. 

“I know-”

“And I’m not ready either,” Clark cut in. “To be Superman.” 

“You can take your time. Just get Clark Kent’s life back again. Find a place to stay, find a job, or get your old one back if it’s what you want. I can help with all that.”

“You’ve helped enough,” Clark said and grabbed Bruce by the jacket. 

Bruce let him pull him in and he wasn’t surprised at all when Clark kissed him hungrily. They haven’t even touched since Bruce had told Clark he wanted to be with him and Diana. 

It surprised Bruce how desperate Clark seemed for it. “We should go on a date,” Clark said once they parted. 

“You still don’t have the money to take me out in style,” Bruce replied. His fingers were still in Clark’s shirt. But Clark’s hands were on Bruce’s hips, so he wasn’t going to be the one to pull away first.

“Who said that I’ll pay? Maybe we’ll let Diana pay?” Clark said. “That’s how three-way relationships work, right? Everyone has the same rights and the same responsibilities.”

“Yes, I think Diana would agree to that.” 

“What about you, Bruce?” Clark asked. 

“I do too,” Bruce answered and kissed Clark. 

He knew that things weren’t magically going to be resolved just because Clark was ready to try. He knew that there would be a lot to deal with on the way, but – they already worked alright, he was going to be optimistic for once and hope things would only get better with time. 

~+~

Bruce sighed. It was a gallery opening again. In the not so nice, but up and coming – did the kids still call this hip? – part of town. 

“It’s all culture, culture, culture with you two,” Bruce said. 

Diana laughed and squeezed his arm. “Don’t even,” she replied. “You love the arts.” 

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said breezily. 

Clark materialized out of nowhere on his other side with glasses in his hands. He handed one to Bruce and one to Diana. “Ah, the old Wayne charm,” Clark commented. 

“Stop spying on us,” Diana said with a smile. 

“I can’t help it,” Clark replied. 

Bruce noted that Clark was keeping his distance, both from Diana and him. Maybe it was better to not advertise that they were here together as lovers, but it rubbed Bruce wrong anyway for some reason. 

Bruce took a sip of his champagne. “See anything you like?” 

Clark shot him a look that made heat pool in Bruce’s groin . “Yeah, I think I did. When I was watching you two from across the room.”

Diana took Clark’s arm. “I think the Kent charm isn’t so bad either. But maybe we should walk around first, and then take this somewhere else.”

“This?” Bruce asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“This,” she replied with a wink and then Bruce found himself following her and Clark around to look at the art. 

They didn’t take ‘this’ home after all, because Clark said he heard someone screaming and he was off before Bruce could ask where and if he needed help. As if Clark would need help with a simple robbery. 

Diana was watching him, he could feel it as they made their way to her car. 

Once they were on the road she said, “He’s nervous about this.”

“What’s there to be nervous about? It’s not like we will drag him back and tear his clothes off and have our wicked way with him,” Bruce replied. 

“Been thinking about this a lot, Bruce?”

He smiled at her. “I had the one or other stray thought. Didn’t you?”

Diana nodded. “I did. I still have it, but maybe Clark needs to talk this over.”

“Talk it over,” Bruce repeated. 

“Yes, because he’s-”

“Clark, I get it, Diana.” 

“Maybe you do,” she replied. “After all you were hiding who you truly are as well as me or Clark.” 

“You think he’s unsure because he’s different?”

“I think he’s unsure because he wants to open up to his lover, and he wants that lover to be a partner and to open up to him too,” Diana answered. 

“And I’m not the most open person in the world.”

“Bruce,” she said, looking at him briefly before she trained her eyes on the road again. “Even your secrets have secrets.” 

“I’m opening up as best as I know how and if that’s not enough maybe you two should-”

“Bruce,” she cut in sharply. “Don’t. Just don’t try to find another handy excuse to back out of this.” 

“I’m not. I just don’t want you two to be overly optimistic about it either. It’s not like this will-,” he stopped, took a breath. “We aren’t Lois.” 

Diana smiled. “Sure as hell not.” 

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“That I’m not Lois Lane? Does it bother you, Bruce?”

He smiled, despite himself. “No, and you know what I mean.” 

“Yes, you are a man. No, I am not like other women, no we aren’t traditional, and god knows all of us have issues, but despite all that I want to try. No more and no less.”

“Fine. We will talk the next time over dinner. Your place,” Bruce said. 

“I’m not cooking,” Diana replied. 

“We can order in.” 

“Or,” she said as she pulled into the driveway to the Lakehouse, “Clark could cook us something.” 

“I will ask him once he’s back.”

She stopped the car, but neither of them made to get out. “Are you going to patrol tonight?” 

“Is that a real question?” Bruce answered. 

“I guess not. Just-” 

“If you start with, ‘be careful’, every time I go out alone, this won’t last,” Bruce said. 

She nodded and leaned in to kiss him. “I worry.” 

“You think I don’t? You two only think you are indestructible.” 

“Yes, you like to remind us,” Diana said. 

“In fact,” Bruce replied, skimming his fingers over her arm gently. “I could take you apart right here, right now.”

“I believe that,” Diana said. “But I do like your bed.”

He opened the door, “Come up for a coffee then.”

“We both know there won’t be any coffee,” she said, following him. 

Bruce smiled. “Not tonight, no, but tomorrow morning if you stay.” 

She kissed him. “Yes.” 

~+~

Bruce heard Clark come home, but he didn’t get up or even open his eyes. He knew by now that Clark in his home was no stranger, no threat. Diana shifted closer to him and he put an arm around her. It was instinct, came naturally to him now. He had missed her, he realized. 

Bruce did open his eyes when he felt Clark’s gaze on them. Clark was a dark silhouette in the doorway. Just standing there watching them. Without really thinking about it Bruce held out his hand and Clark was at the edge of the bed, already only in his underwear holding Bruce’s hand, in a matter of seconds. 

“Come in already,” Diana said sleepily and Clark did. He squeezed Bruce’s fingers once tightly and then crawled under the covers on Diana’s other side. Bruce closed his eyes and soon was asleep again. 

~+~

Clark was making pancakes when Bruce got up the next day. He slept longer than usual and vowed to not let that slip in front of Alfred. 

Diana was taking a shower, he could hear it, she had left the door open. 

Bruce grabbed a shirt and went out into the kitchen. Clark was putting syrup on the table, he looked up when Bruce entered and smiled. 

“You made breakfast,” Bruce said. 

“Sharp as ever,” Clark replied. 

“Greatest detective, remember?” Bruce said, grabbing a coffee. 

“How did you sleep?”

“How did you sleep?” Bruce answered. 

“Well…actually, really well.”

“And we haven’t even tired you out,” Diana cut in from the door. She was only wearing a towel and her hair was wet and she was smiling. That nice wicked glint in her eyes that Bruce loved so much. 

“I’m looking forward to it,” Clark said, but his cheeks were slightly pink. He handed Diana a mug of coffee which she took, but not before she could press a kiss to Clark’s cheek and her glorious naked body to his. 

“Are you, really?” Bruce asked. 

Clark blinked at him. “I – what?”

“Looking forward to-”

“Yes, absolutely,” Clark cut him off. 

“Good,” Bruce said and grabbed Clark by the shirt, kissed him and then Diana when she turned to him. 

“Breakfast first,” Diana said. “I’m starving and this smells really good.”

Bruce wasn’t going to argue with her. Neither, it seemed was Clark. 

 

~Epilogue~

They stumbled into Clark’s new place, less than gracefully. Diana was kissing Bruce and it was stealing his breath away and Clark was – he glanced around without losing contact with Diana’s body – closing and locking the door. 

“Bed,” Diana said. 

Bruce nodded, and let her drag him to the half furnished bedroom. The sunlight was streaming through the French door to the balcony and there were no curtains. Bruce’s paranoid side was briefly taking over, but then he felt Clark’s fingers curl around his hip and then sliding to the front of his pants, opening the button. 

“It’s fine, top floor, remember?” He whispered into Bruce’s ear.

“Stop thinking,” Diana said, sternly. 

“Make me,” he replied.

Clark rubbed his still covered cock against Bruce’s ass while he pulled down the zipper and let his fingers slide over the bulge in Bruce’s pants. He moaned, grabbing at Diana frantically, so he could bite her bottom lip the way she liked it. 

Diana gave as good as she got. Bruce was trying to get her out of her clothes, but it was much more difficult with Clark rubbing his cock through his boxers. 

“Don’t rip them off again,” Bruce warned as Diana’s fingers became more demanding. 

“You are no fun,” she replied, stepping away from him and starting to undress herself. 

“I’m plenty of fun,” Bruce said, watching her. Clark was watching her too, Bruce could tell because Clark’s hand had stilled on his cock. 

“You are so beautiful,” Clark said. 

She smiled. “Keep that sweet talk up, farm boy, I like it,” she threw her skirt on the only chair in the room, her aim perfectly accurate, and stepped out of her shoes.

Bruce unbuttoned his own shirt, because Clark wasn’t a distraction anymore and let it fall to the floor to join his jacket. Clark’s fingers connected with his back, he was tracing Bruce’s scars again. It was developing into something of a kink – for both of them. 

“Clark,” Diana said. “Get naked. Now.”

Clark leaned in and kissed Bruce’s nape and then he stepped away, taking off his clothes. Bruce didn’t watch. He was concentering on his shoes, socks, and pants. 

Clark was faster than him, he was always faster than Bruce. He was already on the bed, joining Diana there. Diana was pulling Clark in and kissing him fiercely. Bruce threw his pants over Diana’s skirt on the chair and just watched them for a few moments, and then he grabbed Clark by the hair and kissed him hard. Clark tasted like the coffee they had and a bit like Diana. 

Clark gasped into his mouth. He liked it when Bruce was demanding and a bit dominant. 

Diana yanked on his hand and he went tumbling onto the bed. No hesitation at all. He knew that both his lovers could take his weight. 

Clark kissed the back of his neck and then his mouth wandered down, over his spine to the dip in his ass. Clark pushed down Bruce’s boxers and kissed first one cheek then the other and then he licked over Bruce’s thigh. Diana was kissing Bruce, her naked breasts were rubbing against his chest. 

Clark stripped Bruce of his boxers when Diana bit his lip and he moaned loudly. Her hands were in his hair and she urged him down. He could take a hint. And Diana wasn’t all that subtle. Her nipples were already hard and tempting. He licked one and then sucked on it gently. Her fingers tightened in his hair. 

“Bruce…” it was only a breathy whisper. 

Bruce kept going, Clark was still worshipping Bruce’s back and legs and ass and Bruce liked this, liked that they could take their time, that he could have sex in broad daylight. 

One of his hands sneaked down to Diana’s pussy and rubbed her gently. She bucked against his hand. He liked to get her off that way, before he or Clark fucked her. Bruce knew she liked it too. 

He sucked harder on her nipples while his hand slipped into her already wet pussy. Clark stopped his ministrations so he could watch her face when she came undone. 

“You want to stay in the middle this time, Bruce?” Clark whispered. 

Bruce nodded, he was hard and leaking, rubbing himself against Diana’s skin, and he knew that Clark would take his sweet time preparing him. It had been some weeks since they all had time enough on their hands to take it slow. Bruce bit his lip, just thinking about Clark’s cock inside him. Filling him out, so hard and hot. 

“I love watching you two,” Diana said, just as Clark was back again with the lube. Superspeed had its perks. 

Clark positioned Bruce the way he wanted him and kissed his tailbone. Diana let her hands roam over Bruce’s back and neck, soft and gently. She kissed him as Clark slipped the first finger inside Bruce. Clark took it slow, in and out and in again. 

“So beautiful,” Clark said and Bruce wanted to call him a sap, but Diana was kissing him again. 

Clark bit Bruce’s neck and slipped another finger inside. Bruce moaned against Diana’s mouth and rubbed his achingly hard cock against her stomach. 

“Come on,” Bruce urged.

“Another one?” Clark teased. 

“Your cock, inside me, now,” Bruce snapped. 

Diana laughed and held him tighter. Preventing him from rubbing against her. “Be patient.” 

“It’s been weeks,” Bruce said. 

“Exactly,” Clark replied and slipped a third finger into Bruce’s ass. “I want to take my time. I want you to enjoy this.” He added and then softer, “I know you like to be teased.” 

Bruce groaned, he did like it. Both Diana and Clark were driving him crazy with their lips and fingers. He was soaked in sweat when Clark pulled his fingers out finally and Diana told him to get inside her. He didn’t need to be told twice. Being inside her hot wet pussy was heaven and it only got better, once Clark’s cock was filling him out. 

He let Clark set the rhythm and stopped thinking altogether. 

Diana tightened around him and he followed her over the edge, it was like a chain reaction, he heard Clark groan and then he felt Clark’s lips on his shoulder, as he tightened around Clark’s cock. 

Clark fucked them through it and then pulled out and rolled over so they wouldn’t crush Diana. 

“That was really good,” Diana said. 

Clark laughed. “Glad you enjoyed yourself.”

“I always enjoy myself with you two,” Diana replied. 

“Bruce?” Clark asked, he was still sometimes unsure. Bruce found it endlessly adorable, even if he would never say it out loud. 

“Yes?”

“Bruce,” Diana sighed. 

Bruce rolled over, so he could look at Clark, he kissed Clark and felt Clark smile against his lips. “It was good. You’re getting better and better.”

Clark flopped down on the bed and looked at the ceiling a smile playing around his lips. “I was thinking you two could help me with my furniture shopping. Tomorrow.”

“Your place does need at least a couch,” Diana said. 

“I was thinking IKEA and then dinner,” Clark replied. 

“IKEA?” Bruce asked. “You planning on assembling it yourself?”

“You are good with your hands,” Clark teased. 

“So is Diana,” Bruce pointed out. 

“I have no patience for IKEA,” Diana said. “But, I’d like to help with your interior design. Bruce too. He has good taste.”

“Thank you,” Bruce said. 

“It’s settled then,” Clark said. 

Bruce wasn’t sure about this, but he was in Metropolis anyway on business and he had never been to an IKEA before. Alfred always told him to expand his horizons. 

“I’m starving, boys,” Diana said. 

“No kitchen yet,” Clark replied. 

“You could grab something in a flash,” Bruce said. 

“We can just order in, I’m too comfortable to get up,” Clark replied, stretching. “I have your favorite restaurant on speed dial.” 

“Fine,” Bruce said. 

Diana handed Clark the phone. Bruce drifted off to their voices debating their order.


End file.
